Stephen A. Smith: Obama chat with Trump not a 'good look'

Sports media personality Stephen A. Smith said former President Obama’s chat with President-elect Trump at former President Carter's funeral was not “a good look.”

“It wasn't a good look, but it wasn't a good look because of Trump,” Smith said on Monday's episode of “The Stephen A. Smith Show.”

“It wasn't a good look, because of all the things that were said about Trump during the campaign, while you were trying to convince tens of millions of people to vote for Kamala Harris.”

“'Fascist, threat to democracy,'” he added. “You know, people bringing up Nazis and all of this stuff when they talked about Trump.”

At Carter's funeral last week, Trump and Obama were seen on camera exchanging pleasantries. Obama laughed at something the president-elect was saying, and their conversation continued on-and-off for a few minutes.

The exchange was notable due to a history of strife between the two presidents.

Trump had for years falsely claimed that Obama wasn't born in the U.S. and thus wasn’t eligible for the presidency, and also accused Obama on multiple occasions of spying on his 2016 campaign. Obama campaigned intensely against Trump in each of the past three presidential elections, painting him as a bully and threat to democracy.

In the end, Smith said he didn't think the Obama-Trump interaction was "that big of a deal.”

“I think class and decorum is the order of the day, especially at a funeral, let alone a funeral with — of one of the former presidents of the United States. I don't think that that's the time for vitriol; I don't think that's the time for insults,” he said.

Unlike his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama, the 44th president intends to attend Trump's inauguration next week. Michelle Obama announced this week she would not attend, as did former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif), who confirmed her planned absence Thursday.

Neither publicly shared their reason for skipping the event.

The Hill has reached out to both Obamas for comment.

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